crimea: the war before the war

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Poland's right wing taps into anti-Ukraine sentiment to win votes
Europe

Poland's right wing taps into anti-Ukraine sentiment to win votes

Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party is ramping up Ukraine-skeptic rhetoric ahead of upcoming elections, in what analysts say is a bid to win back far-right voters after its 2023 defeat. After pushing conservative Karol Nawrocki into the presidential palace, PiS tapped ex-Education Minister Przemyslaw Czarnek — a controversial hardliner — as its candidate for prime minister in next year's election. Czarnek has a track record of criticizing the Ukrainian leadership over historical
Japan breaks into Ukraine’s drone market for first time as Tokyo confronts regional threats

Japan breaks into Ukraine’s drone market for first time as Tokyo confronts regional threats

A Tokyo-listed drone firm is breaking with the trend of Japanese companies avoiding Ukraine's defense industry by partnering with interceptor drone producer Amazing Drones, the first Japanese company to invest in the sector. The investment — undisclosed in size — will fuel a major production scale-up at Kharkiv-based Amazing Drones, with Terra Drone using its decade-long experience to handle supply chains, marketing, and global expansion, the company said at a launch event in Kyiv on March 31.
US lifts sanctions on 3 Russian-flagged cargo ships

US lifts sanctions on 3 Russian-flagged cargo ships

Such actions are "not indicative of a broader shift in the U.S. Russia policy," a U.S. Treasury spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent, adding that OFAC regularly updates its sanctions list by adding or removing individuals and entities.
Trump's NATO doubts are a 'gift' for the Kremlin

Trump's NATO doubts are a 'gift' for the Kremlin

Failing to strong-arm NATO member states into joining his country's war against Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump has once again questioned the need for the alliance's existence. "We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don't have to be, do we?" Trump said at an investment forum in Miami last week. His chief diplomat, Marco Rubio, doubled down on March 30, saying Washington "will have to reexamine" its relationship with NATO countries after the war
Why investigations against lawmakers do not threaten democracy in Ukraine
Opinion

Why investigations against lawmakers do not threaten democracy in Ukraine

Ukraine is fighting two battles at once: resisting Russia's invasion and reforming its institutions to meet EU membership standards. When corruption investigations target sitting members of parliament, these two realities can appear contradictory. During wartime, prosecutions of lawmakers may seem to indicate institutional fragility. In fact, the opposite is true. Investigating MPs during wartime is not a threat to Ukrainian democracy — it is evidence that the rule of law is finally reaching
How Ukraine is 'systematically' destroying Russia's air defenses

How Ukraine is 'systematically' destroying Russia's air defenses

Hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, oil refineries burst into flames, and the sky above airfields and weapons factories is filled with thick black smoke. These scenes, increasingly frequent in videos related by the Ukrainian military over the last several months,  are the visible results of an expanding Ukrainian deep-strike campaign. Its objective: hit critical military and industrial infrastructure far inside Russian territory, bringing the war directly onto its soil. The secret behind the
Why Rheinmetall and the West still don't understand Ukraine's defense tech revolution
Opinion

Why Rheinmetall and the West still don't understand Ukraine's defense tech revolution

When evaluating military technology, it helps to distinguish between two domains: the industrial and the battlefield. Rheinmetall is unquestionably a large company that produces effective weapons systems that actually work on the battlefield. This is a fact that does not require emotional amplification or denial. But those two domains carry different kinds of authority, and conflating them leads to poor analysis. The statement by Rheinmetall's CEO, Armin Papperger, about Ukrainian drones goes
Ukraine's parliamentary dysfunction, explained
Politics

Ukraine's parliamentary dysfunction, explained

Ukraine's parliament is in gridlock as relations have broken down between the legislative and executive branches of government. The parliamentary crisis, as some have rushed to describe it, has been ignited by the President's Office's weakening influence over the legislature and a lack of communication between parliament and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, lawmakers and analysts have told the Kyiv Independent. "(Svyrydenko) works only with the President's Office and does not wo
Ukraine used Storm Shadow to strike Russia's most irreplaceable weapons factory — and why it matters
Opinion

Ukraine used Storm Shadow to strike Russia's most irreplaceable weapons factory — and why it matters

As you read this, somewhere at a TSMC fab in Taiwan's Hsinchu a robot is moving a silicon wafer packed with transistors measuring 2 nanometers — 20 atoms in a row. Mass production of chips using the 2-nanometer process began in late 2025, and TSMC's entire 2026 capacity is already sold out — Apple, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and AMD are all in line. Samsung has launched its own 2-nanometer Exynos 2600 processor. Intel is advancing its 18A node (1.8 nm). We are talking about the kind of density and effi